long live the queen

Last week I joined a wonderful friend at The Empress. My friend has a wheat allergy and we had heard that The Empress had gluten-free bread. What we hadn't realized is that one of the owners has Celiac's so the majority of the menu is actually wheat-free (including their French toast at brunch!) At the time, The Empress was facing the possibility of having to shut down (due to their landlord possibly going to jail) but since they've announced that they will be staying open, I want to share these drool-inducing photos. I had told myself I wasn't going to document the meal, until it came out and was just so adorable. We ordered several of the appetizer/ tapas and shared, eating our meal slowly over gossip. Our server was great and the owner came over to talk once she heard we had a wheat-allergy at the table. Now that they are sticking around, I'll officially recommend them.

[I believe this was an orange-and-honey soaked apricot with blue cheese, but it may not have been blue cheese. Either way, it was heavenly.]

[Our adorable glassware]

[Bacon-wrapped dates]

[Beef carpaccio. Note: this bread is gluten-free. And I loved it.]

[International meats and cheeses]

[Red pepper crème brulée]

This one was a risk. The Empress has constantly rotating crème brulée selection and the selection while we were there was red pepper. They were so fresh that ours was actually stuck in the freezer to cool before being brought out and it was still slightly warm when served. (We had been warned and, as I said, it was a risk.) It didn't quite work but I definitely want to try a slightly-more traditional version soon.